Preventing the transmission of infectious diseases is a major concern of all hospitals and medical institutions. Critical items, such as surgical instruments and endoscopes that come into contact with mucus membranes of the body, are sterilized or disinfected between uses to prevent the transmission of communicable diseases.
Non-critical items are those that make contact with intact skin, but not with mucus membranes. Examples of non-critical items include wheelchairs, IV poles, stretchers, patient beds, patient tray tables, computers on wheels, keyboards, blood pressure cuffs, patient furniture, tables and case carts. Just about any device encountered within a hospital, aside from the aforementioned critical items, would be considered “non-critical items.” These non-critical items are repeatedly handled by health care workers and other medical staff who substantively come into contact with patients in the course of their duties. It is well known that many types of infectious agents can survive extended periods of time (days to months) on surfaces of non-critical items, and their use and frequent handling by numerous people can contribute to the transmission of infectious agents throughout a hospital.
One method of decontaminating non-critical items is through the use of liquid disinfectants applied through manual cleaning using spray bottles and wiping cloths. As will be appreciated, for certain types of structures, such as wheelchairs, IV poles, patient beds and even computers, it is almost impossible to insure that every surface of the item is decontaminated. Moreover, some hospital devices, such as computers, having air passages therethrough that are used to cool internal electrical components, are particularly difficult to clean.
Another method of disinfecting these non-critical items is to place the items in a dedicated hospital room and expose the entire interior of the room to a decontaminating gas, such as vaporized hydrogen peroxide. To construct such a room in an existing building, requires that door openings and any HVAC outlets or inlets be covered and sealed. When a room in an existing hospital is dedicated for use as a decontamination chamber, great care and significant labor must be employed to insure that all door openings and ventilation ducts are sealed. Some painted surfaces in the room can over time blister and peel due to repeated exposure to vaporized hydrogen peroxide. Moreover, rooms with exterior windows are generally undesirable because during cold months of the year, condensation may occur on cold surfaces. Still further, safety features that insure that hospital workers are not exposed to vaporized hydrogen peroxide during a cycle typically do not exist. In this respect, methods of interlocking the doors or detecting leaks are not available in most hospital settings. In addition, vaporized hydrogen peroxide systems require aeration systems to eliminate the vaporized hydrogen peroxide after a decontamination cycle. As a result, creation of a dedicated room for use as a decontamination room requires considerable structural modifications to the room and surrounding areas. Moreover, once established, such rooms cannot be easily modified or relocated within the hospital infrastructure.
The present invention overcomes these and other problems, and provides a decontamination enclosure for use in hospitals, which decontamination enclosure is modular and may be easily disassembled, relocated and/or expanded.